In the News

resizerJanuary 14, 2016. SC has shown great foresight in striking against proxy PILs as instruments of intimidation – Firstpost

January 7, 2016. SC frowns upon litigation involving public trusts, indirectly bats for freedom of expression – Legally India

January 6, 2016. Aurobindo Ashram Trustee cannot be removed – Livelaw.in

December 1, 2015. Ten books that India needs to unban now – Scroll.in

December 21, 2014 Sisters victims in Sri Aurobindo Ashram Squabble – Deccan Chronicle

April 30, 2014 Pulped Fiction – Brown Political Review (USA).

Mar 30, 2014 Manipur observes the 70th anniversary of Battle of Imphal – TwoCircles.net

Feb 23, 2014 Fearing the Written Word – India Today

Feb 23, 2014 The Lunatic Hindu Fringe and book-banning in India – The Daily Mail (UK).

Feb 22, 2014 Banished from the Bookshelves: The Lives of Sri Aurobindo – Outlook

Jan 22, 2014. Writing the Self named an Outstanding Academic Title for 2013.

Jan 11, 2014. Book Ban: HC Seeks Reply – The Telegraph (Calcutta)

Oct 21, 2013. Between Ink and Retina  – Outlook – Anuradha Raman explains how books get “banned” in a country that doesn’t  ban books.

Oct 3, 2013. Disclose reasons behind visa row on Peter Heehs: CIC to home ministry – Times of India

Feb 24, 2013 – Aurobindo admirer – Shillong Times

Feb 15, 2013 Inspired by Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy, he made India his home – Meghalaya Guardian (Shillong)

June 8, 2012 Hay Festival 2012: Freedom of Speech: Mark Tully — The Telegraph (London)

May 4, 2012 Identify politics behind demand for banning a book, says Romila — The Hindu

May 1, 2012 East Meets West, again — Asia Times

Apr 28, 2012 Xenophobindia — Business Standard

Apr 23, 2012 Behind the Portrait — Business Standard

Apr 23, 2012 A Heretic Believer — Outlook India Magazine

Apr 22, 2012 Climate of touchiness augurs ill for India — India Today

Apr 21, 2012 Aurobindo’s Biographer Speaks Out — The Speaking Tree (Times of India)

Apr 21, 2012 Blasphemy tag strains Aurobindo Ashram — Deccan Herald

Apr 20, 2012 Yoga and Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo is not a religion: Peter Heehs — The Economic Times

Apr 18, 2012 Indian intellectuals report an increase of censorship — Deutsche Welle

Apr 17, 2012 Biographer of Indian mystic gets to stay — Asia Times Online

Apr 15, 2012 People of India respect right to freedom of expression: Heehs — The Hindu

Apr 15, 2012 I was targeted for showing Aurobindo’s human side — The Times of India

Apr 14, 2012 Peter Heehs grateful for his visa extension — Deccan Chronicle

Apr 14, 2012 Historian’s visa victory in sage row: Author given reprieve after his book threatened to cut short his stay — Daily Mail

Apr 14, 2012 India extends visa of US historian Heehs — The Times of India

Apr 14, 2012 Govt extends Heehs’s visa by one year — The Indian Express

Apr 12, 2012 India punishes author for controversial book?
Interview with Akash Banerjee, Headlines Today, New Delhi
US historian Peter Heehs faces the threat of being deported back to his home country after his controversial biography on Sri Aurobindo manages to create a stir.

Apr 12, 2012 Debate: Peter Heehs in trouble over book
The Newshour debate, TimesNow.tv, New Delhi

Apr 12, 2012 Face The Nation: Are historians losing their freedom of expression?
Interview with Sagarika Ghose, prime time anchor, IBN-CNN, New Delhi
Once again a book has been banned. This time the author is American historian Peter Heehs for his book The Lives of Sri Aurobindo.

Apr 11, 2012 The intolerant Indian?
Editorial in Times of India
The pattern’s become depressingly familiar — a writer presents new views on a historical figure. A group with some affiliation to this figure, ethnic, devotional or political, takes offence….

Apr 11, 2012 A little reason would help
Editorial in Mail Today/India Today
A biography of Sri Aurobindo by Peter Heehs has angered some of the followers of the former because of the observations of the author on his subject

Apr 11, 2012 Book clubbed
Insightful opinion piece by Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Centre for Policy Research, Delhi
Crossfire over Heehs’s work says much about our public culture of readership India’s visa policy for scholars has long been a scandal unworthy of a liberal democracy.

Apr 9, 2012 For Heehs work, a cloud over 40-yr tryst with India
Feature article by Gopu Mohan in the Indian Express

Apr 8,2012 Historian dubbed heretic for his Aurobindo “barbs” – Article in Mail Online India

Apr 5, 2012 Jairam Writes to PC on historian’s visa cancellation – Hindustan Times

Apr 3, 2012 Indian Academics Object to Treatment of American Historian — Chronicle of Higher Education

Apr 3, 2012 In Hume’s footsteps
Ramachandra Guha writing for the Hindustan Times
Historian Peter Heehs is part of a long list of foreigners who’ve made a signal contribution to India. A favourable review of his visa extension will benefit the nation.

Feb 23, 2012 Sri Aurobindo, Heehs and the fragility of faith
Gautam Chikermane writing for the Hindustan Times on freedom of expression, discussing Rushdie, Husain and Heehs

Jul 30, 2011 Ban the ban
The republic of India bans books with a depressing frequency
Article by Ramachandra Guha (one of India’s leading historians) about banning books in India. He discusses books by Lelyveld, Heehs et al.